1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relate to an electronic mail receiving method, etc. in a communications terminal such as a portable telephone, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, portable telephones (cellular phone, PHS, etc.) and small portable computers (PDA, etc.) comprise the functions for transmitting/receiving an electronic mail (E-mail) in many cases. Received electronic mails are stored in a received electronic mail box, etc. However, since importance is placed on the portability, and attempts are made to downsize a device in any case, storage space (capacity) is tight (small). If the received electronic mail box becomes full, a new electronic mail cannot be received unless an existing electronic mail is deleted.
To overcome such a problem, for example, the following known techniques are conventionally proposed.
For instance, Patent Document 1 proposes a method with which a deletion is made sequentially from a received electronic mail having older reception date and time until empty space required to receive a new electronic mail is secured according to not the number of electronic mails but the amount of electronic mails, in contrast to a conventional technology with which the number of electronic mails is counted upon receipt of an electronic mail, and a deletion is made sequentially from an electronic mail having older reception date and time if the counted number exceeds a preset number of received electronic mails. Patent Document 1 also proposes a deletion of not only a received electronic mail but also a transmitted electronic mail. Additionally, Patent Document 1 discloses that if required empty space cannot be secured although an electronic mail other than a protected electronic mail, an electronic mail yet to be read, and an electronic mail yet to be transmitted is deleted, a display such that “Memory is full. Delete electronic mail” is made, and a user is made to delete an electronic mail according to his or her judgment.
Additionally, for example, Patent Document 2 proposes a method that protects a user from being unaware that an Internet facsimile to be in a state where the electronic mail cannot be received because memory is full, and from being unable to learn the number of electronic mails that cannot be received and remain in a mail server in the Internet facsimile, etc. Patent Document 2 can urge a user to erase a received electronic mail or a facsimile image stored in a memory by notifying the user of the number of electronic mails that remain in a mail server and cannot be received, or of the state where memory is full.
Furthermore, by way of example, Patent Document 3 proposes a function for enabling a client to set the storage period of an electronic mail, and for deleting each electronic mail based on a set storage period, or a function for preferentially deleting an electronic mail the storage period of which is not set if empty space of an electronic mail box becomes a preset value or smaller. Besides, Patent Document 3 discloses that a warning message indicating that empty space is insufficient is issued, if the empty space does not become a preset value or more although a deletion is made with the above described function.
Still further, for example, Patent Document 4 discloses a technique for the management (space excess detection, space excess warning notification, deletion, etc.) of electronic mails stored in a mail spool area in terms of a mail server.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-137655
[Patent Document 2]
    Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-108777[Patent Document 3]    Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-353129[Patent Document 4]    Japanese Patent Publication No. HEI11-328059
None of the above described conventional techniques make an effective proposal in the case where a countermeasure cannot be taken with an automatic electronic mail deletion function. Namely, for example, in the case where only electronic mails that cannot be deleted with the automatic electronic mail deletion function exist, such as the case where a received electronic mail box is full and all of its existing electronic mails are set to be protected, or the case where all of electronic mails are only protected electronic mails, electronic mails yet to be read, and electronic mails yet to be transmitted, a display such as “Memory is full. Delete electronic mail” is made, or a warning message indicating that empty space is insufficient is issued. An especially unfamiliar user is difficult to learn a countermeasure, namely, a release of protection, which must be firstly made to delete an electronic mail.
Additionally, if a new electronic mail cannot be captured due to a situation where a received electronic mail box is full and all of existing electronic mails are set to be protected when an inquiry is made to a mail server, a line disconnection automatically occurs, which leads to an error. Although a display is made with pictographic characters, etc., which indicate that a new electronic mail exists in a mail server, or a received electronic mail box is full, an especially unfamiliar user is difficult to learn the reason of an error.
Furthermore, an especially unfamiliar user does not know how to perform an operation itself for releasing protection with confusion. Also for a familiar user, it is desirable to allow such an operation to be performed with as little troublesomeness as possible.
Still further, for a communications terminal having a protection folder which an electronic mail can be distributed to and is a folder dedicated to protected electronic mails, assume that “protection folder and secret” setting is enabled, the number of electronic mails stored in the whole of a received electronic mail box is 80, but the protection folder is full, for example, when the entire received electronic mail box can store up to 100 electronic mails and the protection folder can store up to 50 electronic mails. Also assume that a new electronic mail received in this situation is an electronic mail that must be distributed to the protection folder. In this case, the electronic mail can be captured in the received electronic mail box but not in the protection folder. Therefore, the electronic mail is displayed, for example, at a root, and not made secret, so that it can be possibly viewed by another person.
In the meantime, if an electronic mail is disabled to be captured when it cannot be captured in the protection folder, it is desirable to lead a user to a quick operation that the user can perform without confusion, and allows a new electronic mail to be distributed to the protection folder by releasing the protection of some of electronic mails stored in the protection folder.